17 #NotARedskin Tweets Every American Needs to See

The news: On Oct. 24, the Red Circle Agency partnered with
the National Coalition Against Racism in Sports and Media (NCARSM) and uploaded a powerful
video statement to YouTube, the Huffington
Post reports.

The 30-second clip, titled "No Honor
in Racism," illustrates the absurdity of sanctioning the term "redskin" —
whether in casual speech or as the name of a multimillion-dollar sports
franchise — while slurs like "nigger," "gook" and "kyke" are shunned and censored.

It's an important message in light of
recent debates around the appropriation of Native American culture and
iconography. But outlining the
real-life extent of the damage is just as key to understanding the problem.

Native peoples Internet-wide have been using it to illustrate
the uniqueness of their individual tribes and nations. In doing so, they've shown decisively that
whether someone is Ojibwe, Oglala Lakota, Navajo or anything in between, he or
she is anything but this damaging racial slur. Take a look:

@FrankWaln Ihanktonwan Nakota he maca yeno! End Village Dweller of the Seven Council Fires #NotARedskin #Hoka #wopida pic.twitter.com/4GTMXIP4ky

Background: One problem with this slur and the commodification of Native culture that it's accompanied is its psychological impact.

For instance, a recent report
from the Center for American Progress described
how using Natives as mascots can cause "lower self-esteem and mental health" in
indigenous adolescents, a group already besieged by disproportionately high rates
of poverty, substance abuse and suicide, according to the Washington
Post.

Affirming
the pride and diversity of Native American identity is key to combating the stereotypes
these images perpetuate. Racism's ability to frame nonwhite cultures
as monolithic identities — all basically the same, all subject to similar
standards and expectations — is an important part of its power.

Therefore, highlighting
diversity within these broader identities is an important step toward reclaiming
their humanity from forces that would deny it. #NotARedskin is an encouraging
development in this process, and it's way past time the rest of society followed
suit.